Friday, September 23
St. Cloud, Minn.
6:00 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
vs
Wayne State
Photo by: Ryan Roehl
No. 4 Huskies to battle No. 1 Wayne State, (RV) Augustana at Halenbeck Hall
9/21/2022 1:45:00 PM | Volleyball
St. Cloud State puts their 12-0 start to the test against Wildcats and Vikings
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 4 St. Cloud State Volleyball looks ahead to a thrilling weekend at Halenbeck Hall as they host No. 1 Wayne State and (RV) Augustana on Friday and Saturday. The Huskies battle the nation's top team at 6:00 p.m. CT Friday with Saturday's bout against Augustana set for 2:00 p.m. CT. Friday's match will be a White Out with fans encouraged to wear white to the contest while Saturday features a Red Glow Stick giveaway to the first 100 fans.
Broadcast Information
Both matches will be broadcast on the NSIC Network and the KVSC Sports Stream with Live Stats provided by SCSU. Fans can find links to each match on the SCSU Volleyball schedule page.
Last Time Out
St. Cloud State improved to 12-0 with a straight-set win over MSU-Moorhead on Saturday afternoon at Halenbeck Hall. The Huskies' 12 consecutive wins to open 2022 establish a new record for the program's best start to a season. Kenzie Foley double-doubled with 14 kills and 12 digs on .440 hitting while Linsey Rachel added 10 kills on .304 hitting. Makena Hollman sent down eight kills on 15 swings, finishing the weekend with a 17-0-30 line (.567). Phebie Rossi added seven kills and hit .417 to round out the offense. The Huskies' vaunted defense held MSUM to hit just .036 with 20 kills and 17 errors, blocking them six times while allowing zero aces. Sam Zimmerman tied a career-high with five blocks, Emma Berran and Hollman added two while Foley and Rossi chipped in one each.
Huskies Primer
SCSU slid up two spots to No. 4 in this week's AVCA Top-25 poll, entering the top-five for the first time in the Braegelmann era and reaching their highest rank since 1996. The Huskies swept both (RV) Northern State and MSU-Moorhead last weekend, outhitting the two clubs a combined .342 to .100. Makena Hollman enjoyed a stellar weekend at the right pin with 2.83 kills/set on .567 hitting while Kenzie Foley (.373), Phebie Rossi (.364) and Linsey Rachel (.314) each hit better than .300.
Scouting No. 1 Wayne State
Wayne State jumped two spots to No. 1 in the AVCA Top-25 this week and have won 14 straight matches to open 2022. The Wildcats have gone 4-0 against top-25 teams thus far including a pair of wins over Concordia-St. Paul. Taya Beller (3.94 K/S, .433) and Kelsie Cada (3.68 K/S, .257) power the offense from the outside while blocker Maggie Brahmer (3.17 K/S, .462, 1.23 B/S) has been a force from the middle, ranking fifth nationally in hitting percentage. Rachel Walker (11.15 A/S) has directed the offense to .301, third across the NCAA. Jessie Brandl (4.34 D/S) leads a defense that ranks second in the NSIC with 16.89 digs per set.
Scouting (RV) Augustana
The senior-laden Vikings have spent time in the Top-25 this season as part of a 10-2 start to 2022, opening conference play 2-2. Augustana's defense has limited opponents to hit just .125 on the season as libero Erika Bute leads the NSIC with 5.21 digs per set. All-NSIC setter Avery Thorson (9.94 A/S) quarterbacks an offense led by Kate Reimann (3.04 K/S), Maddy Guetter (2.96 K/S) and Kia Kriener (2.74 K/S). Piper Asche (1.09 B/S) has added at least three blocks in 11 of 12 matches, adding to the Vikings' defensive prowess.
Leading the Pack
Huskies can be found all over the NSIC leaderboards entering week five. Kenzie Foley leads the conference in points (5.50) and kills per set (4.71), ranks third in hitting percentage (.383) and 10th in aces/set (0.40). Emma Berran is second in the league in assists per set (11.35). Phebie Rossi ranks fourth in both hitting percentage (.366) and blocks/set (1.19) while landing 17th in points/set (3.57). Linsey Rachel lands sixth in aces/set (0.45), 13th in kills/set (3.09), 14th in both points (3.62) and digs (3.55) per set while slotting in 17th in hitting percentage (.291). Keely Kurschner is third in aces/set (0.54) and ninth in digs/set (3.95). Makena Hollman ranks seventh in the conference with a .341 hitting percentage; Sam Zimmerman is 12th in blocks/set (0.89) and 16th in hitting percentage (.298) while Rachel Houle is 12th with 0.38 aces/set.
Rachel's Record Watch
Graduate student outside hitter Linsey Rachel enters the weekend ranked third on the Huskies' all-time kills list with 1353 and sixth in digs with 1315. She is 143 kills away from passing Kathy Davis (88') for second all-time in program history and 28 digs away from passing Chelsea Nagle (11') for fifth all-time.
Fear Foley
Junior outside Kenzie Foley ranks fourth in the NCAA in both points/set (5.50) and kills/set (4.71). She leads the NSIC in both categories and is hitting a whopping .383, second in the nation among outside hitters and third overall in the Northern Sun. Foley has put away double-digit kills in 10 of 12 matches and has seven double-doubles this season.
Best in the Land
St. Cloud State's offense leads the NCAA in hitting percentage at .323, a full 21 percentage points better than the next-best team. The Huskies rank fourth nationally in both kills/set and assists/set, leaning on their terminal offense to take 36 of 37 sets this season.
Dynamic Defense
The Huskies own the best defense in the Northern Sun entering the weekend, holding opponents to a conference-best .118 hitting percentage and a league-low 9.19 kills per set. SCSU is the only team in the conference yet to allow 400 total kills this season – currently standing at 340 with the next-lowest team at 440. No Huskies opponent has hit better than .173 in a match this fall.
Red-Hot Huskies
Beginning league play in the always-rugged NSIC has only fueled the blazing-hot Huskies offense, as St. Cloud State is hitting .384 with 15.50 kills per set over their first four conference matches. Incredibly, SCSU has hit .300 or better in nine of 12 matches played including hitting .330 or better in their last six.
Serve-and-Pass Success
SCSU has excelled in the serve-and-pass game this season, allowing the fewest aces (31) and aces per set (0.84) in the NSIC while leading the league with 2.35 aces/set of their own – good for 20th in the NCAA.
Information regarding single game and season tickets can be found at scsutickets.com. For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Broadcast Information
Both matches will be broadcast on the NSIC Network and the KVSC Sports Stream with Live Stats provided by SCSU. Fans can find links to each match on the SCSU Volleyball schedule page.
Last Time Out
St. Cloud State improved to 12-0 with a straight-set win over MSU-Moorhead on Saturday afternoon at Halenbeck Hall. The Huskies' 12 consecutive wins to open 2022 establish a new record for the program's best start to a season. Kenzie Foley double-doubled with 14 kills and 12 digs on .440 hitting while Linsey Rachel added 10 kills on .304 hitting. Makena Hollman sent down eight kills on 15 swings, finishing the weekend with a 17-0-30 line (.567). Phebie Rossi added seven kills and hit .417 to round out the offense. The Huskies' vaunted defense held MSUM to hit just .036 with 20 kills and 17 errors, blocking them six times while allowing zero aces. Sam Zimmerman tied a career-high with five blocks, Emma Berran and Hollman added two while Foley and Rossi chipped in one each.
Huskies Primer
SCSU slid up two spots to No. 4 in this week's AVCA Top-25 poll, entering the top-five for the first time in the Braegelmann era and reaching their highest rank since 1996. The Huskies swept both (RV) Northern State and MSU-Moorhead last weekend, outhitting the two clubs a combined .342 to .100. Makena Hollman enjoyed a stellar weekend at the right pin with 2.83 kills/set on .567 hitting while Kenzie Foley (.373), Phebie Rossi (.364) and Linsey Rachel (.314) each hit better than .300.
Scouting No. 1 Wayne State
Wayne State jumped two spots to No. 1 in the AVCA Top-25 this week and have won 14 straight matches to open 2022. The Wildcats have gone 4-0 against top-25 teams thus far including a pair of wins over Concordia-St. Paul. Taya Beller (3.94 K/S, .433) and Kelsie Cada (3.68 K/S, .257) power the offense from the outside while blocker Maggie Brahmer (3.17 K/S, .462, 1.23 B/S) has been a force from the middle, ranking fifth nationally in hitting percentage. Rachel Walker (11.15 A/S) has directed the offense to .301, third across the NCAA. Jessie Brandl (4.34 D/S) leads a defense that ranks second in the NSIC with 16.89 digs per set.
Scouting (RV) Augustana
The senior-laden Vikings have spent time in the Top-25 this season as part of a 10-2 start to 2022, opening conference play 2-2. Augustana's defense has limited opponents to hit just .125 on the season as libero Erika Bute leads the NSIC with 5.21 digs per set. All-NSIC setter Avery Thorson (9.94 A/S) quarterbacks an offense led by Kate Reimann (3.04 K/S), Maddy Guetter (2.96 K/S) and Kia Kriener (2.74 K/S). Piper Asche (1.09 B/S) has added at least three blocks in 11 of 12 matches, adding to the Vikings' defensive prowess.
Leading the Pack
Huskies can be found all over the NSIC leaderboards entering week five. Kenzie Foley leads the conference in points (5.50) and kills per set (4.71), ranks third in hitting percentage (.383) and 10th in aces/set (0.40). Emma Berran is second in the league in assists per set (11.35). Phebie Rossi ranks fourth in both hitting percentage (.366) and blocks/set (1.19) while landing 17th in points/set (3.57). Linsey Rachel lands sixth in aces/set (0.45), 13th in kills/set (3.09), 14th in both points (3.62) and digs (3.55) per set while slotting in 17th in hitting percentage (.291). Keely Kurschner is third in aces/set (0.54) and ninth in digs/set (3.95). Makena Hollman ranks seventh in the conference with a .341 hitting percentage; Sam Zimmerman is 12th in blocks/set (0.89) and 16th in hitting percentage (.298) while Rachel Houle is 12th with 0.38 aces/set.
Rachel's Record Watch
Graduate student outside hitter Linsey Rachel enters the weekend ranked third on the Huskies' all-time kills list with 1353 and sixth in digs with 1315. She is 143 kills away from passing Kathy Davis (88') for second all-time in program history and 28 digs away from passing Chelsea Nagle (11') for fifth all-time.
Fear Foley
Junior outside Kenzie Foley ranks fourth in the NCAA in both points/set (5.50) and kills/set (4.71). She leads the NSIC in both categories and is hitting a whopping .383, second in the nation among outside hitters and third overall in the Northern Sun. Foley has put away double-digit kills in 10 of 12 matches and has seven double-doubles this season.
Best in the Land
St. Cloud State's offense leads the NCAA in hitting percentage at .323, a full 21 percentage points better than the next-best team. The Huskies rank fourth nationally in both kills/set and assists/set, leaning on their terminal offense to take 36 of 37 sets this season.
Dynamic Defense
The Huskies own the best defense in the Northern Sun entering the weekend, holding opponents to a conference-best .118 hitting percentage and a league-low 9.19 kills per set. SCSU is the only team in the conference yet to allow 400 total kills this season – currently standing at 340 with the next-lowest team at 440. No Huskies opponent has hit better than .173 in a match this fall.
Red-Hot Huskies
Beginning league play in the always-rugged NSIC has only fueled the blazing-hot Huskies offense, as St. Cloud State is hitting .384 with 15.50 kills per set over their first four conference matches. Incredibly, SCSU has hit .300 or better in nine of 12 matches played including hitting .330 or better in their last six.
Serve-and-Pass Success
SCSU has excelled in the serve-and-pass game this season, allowing the fewest aces (31) and aces per set (0.84) in the NSIC while leading the league with 2.35 aces/set of their own – good for 20th in the NCAA.
Information regarding single game and season tickets can be found at scsutickets.com. For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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